Embargoed until 09.00 31.01.18: UK consumers are failing to meet the recommended level of fibre intake – which is so important for gut health - in their diet. But a new UK research study funded by the California Prune Board that is published this month, suggests that prunes could be a convenient solution to helping the nation address this issue.

The study, undertaken by researchers at King’s College London – a renowned centre of excellence for nutrition and digestive health – adds weight to the existing authorised health claim for prunes by showing that eating just 80 g daily – not the previously believed 100 g as per the current EU claim – of prunes achieves the same desired effect.

Scientists at King’s College London based their research on a group of healthy adults with low fibre intakes and infrequent bowel movements and found that the daily addition of just 80 g of prunes in the diet can dramatically increase fibre intake by 29%, resulting in...